1 00:00:00,001 --> 00:00:06,001 A place of great natural beauty and it's a dream location for ham radio. 2 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:10,000 A lifelong passion of the former senator and Air Force general. 3 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:16,000 K-7 UGA is his call and in the world of ham radio we call him Barry. 4 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:22,000 If we don't go no code do you think we can hold on to our present frequencies? 5 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:28,001 Can they hold on to it with the numbers we have? 6 00:00:28,001 --> 00:00:31,000 My answer would be very doubtful. 7 00:00:32,001 --> 00:00:36,001 Can you hold on to it with a couple hundred thousand young amateurs? Yes. 8 00:00:37,001 --> 00:00:41,001 Because they all vote. They can all communicate with the Congress. 9 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:46,001 They can tell them, look we don't want you taking these frequencies away from us. 10 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:53,001 And I'll tell you as former chairman of the communications subcommittee, I 11 00:00:53,001 --> 00:00:56,001 practically never heard from a ham. 12 00:00:56,001 --> 00:01:01,001 Barry, what influence, if any, do you think the amateur fraternity 13 00:01:01,001 --> 00:01:03,000 can have on politicians? 14 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:11,001 You'll find among the 535 members of our Congress right now, not 15 00:01:11,001 --> 00:01:15,000 one amateur operator. 16 00:01:16,001 --> 00:01:21,000 Now there's some that are interested because they have friends and constituents 17 00:01:21,001 --> 00:01:24,001 that are interested in saving a frequency. 18 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:27,000 And they've had a lot of mail on it but they 19 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:29,000 don't know what the hell they're talking about. 20 00:01:30,001 --> 00:01:33,001 Barry, what is your position on no code? 21 00:01:35,001 --> 00:01:42,000 I hate to say this to you because I'm one of those sort of old fashioned 22 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:46,000 hams that really love the code. 23 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:50,000 But we are not getting new amateurs. 24 00:01:51,001 --> 00:01:57,001 So we do away with the code requirement and we bring a lot of new young men into 25 00:01:57,001 --> 00:02:04,000 the business of amateurs and also into the business of bettering the 26 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:05,001 new communication systems. 27 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:10,000 So you're proposing a no code license? 28 00:02:10,001 --> 00:02:16,001 I frankly would put more emphasis on the technical questions. 29 00:02:18,001 --> 00:02:22,000 Forget about the code. Nobody's going to use it. 30 00:02:23,001 --> 00:02:26,001 Now there used to be a pretty good argument for learning code. 31 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:32,000 You'd say, well, it'll come in handy if you ever become a member of the armed 32 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:34,000 service. No more. 33 00:02:35,001 --> 00:02:40,000 There's no requirement for it. All the forces have dropped it. 34 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:46,001 And I say everything new is digital, computerized, and 35 00:02:46,001 --> 00:02:53,000 there's darn few things you can't do with a computer and equipment. 36 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:59,000 How would you propose that we get into the business of no code? 37 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:02,001 Well, the business is rather simple. 38 00:03:03,001 --> 00:03:09,001 You first would have to get the ARRL, the American Radio Relay League, behind it. 39 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:16,001 You'd have to get these magazine editors who I think are inclining that way. 40 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:22,000 You've got to remember one thing. You have more amateurs. 41 00:03:23,001 --> 00:03:25,001 You're going to sell more equipment. 42 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:32,001 But the easiest way is to convince the American Radio Relay League that 43 00:03:32,001 --> 00:03:39,000 opposition or no opposition, if they want to increase the amateur ranks, they 44 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:43,000 have to do away with the number one objection code. 45 00:03:44,001 --> 00:03:49,001 Now I know that's... I know a lot of people will be shocked to hear an old-timer 46 00:03:49,001 --> 00:03:51,001 like me say that. 47 00:03:52,001 --> 00:03:58,000 We're not going to do away with code. I want to sit down here and wobble the 48 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:00,000 key. I'll do that forever. 49 00:04:01,001 --> 00:04:05,000 But it isn't going to be with some young kid that wants to become an amateur. 50 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:09,001 Let's put that in practice. How would it really work? 51 00:04:11,001 --> 00:04:17,000 Schools come up here, young people come up here to watch radio communications, 52 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:18,001 and they're all thrilled. 53 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:23,001 But then you say, now you're going to have to learn Morse code. 54 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:29,000 They think it's impossible. And you know, and I know, it's not. 55 00:04:30,001 --> 00:04:35,000 But that's their attitude. And they don't want any part of Morse code. 56 00:04:35,001 --> 00:04:40,001 Even if God stuck a pin in their head and said, you can now work Morse, 57 00:04:41,001 --> 00:04:43,000 they wouldn't want it. 58 00:04:45,001 --> 00:04:51,001 They're enthralled by the new communications, Baudot, the 59 00:04:51,001 --> 00:04:58,001 high-speed digital frequencies, all the 60 00:04:58,001 --> 00:05:00,000 different things that we have today. 61 00:05:01,001 --> 00:05:06,000 I'd hate to act the devil to start over again and have to learn. I'd rather 62 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:07,001 learn the Morse code over again. 63 00:05:08,001 --> 00:05:15,001 So we'll make more advancement with young people fiddling around with 64 00:05:15,001 --> 00:05:20,001 their Saturday night hands and a good book and a box full of junk. 65 00:05:21,001 --> 00:05:27,001 And then by teaching a Morse code, when nobody much talks in Morse code anymore. 66 00:05:29,001 --> 00:05:34,000 Barry, would it be fair to say the day of the Morse operators gone? 67 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:41,001 Well, I'll make a prophecy, and I won't be alive 68 00:05:41,001 --> 00:05:43,000 to ever see it come true. 69 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:49,001 If we continue to require a knowledge of code for a license, 70 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:55,001 people are going to just plain die. 71 00:05:57,001 --> 00:06:01,000 I'm 80. I'm not going to be around here forever. 72 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:05,001 But when I'm gone, that's one less guy that knows the 73 00:06:05,001 --> 00:06:07,000 code. So what the hell is the difference? 74 00:06:08,001 --> 00:06:15,001 I don't want to see amateur radio die out because, as I've said, 98 75 00:06:15,001 --> 00:06:21,000 % of all the improvements made in radio have come 76 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:22,001 out of an amateur shack. 77 00:06:23,001 --> 00:06:25,001 I want to see that encouraged. 78 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:33,001 As I say, I think we can swell our ranks by at least 200,000. 79 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:41,000 If we just allow young amateurs or would-be amateurs to come in 80 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:48,000 as a licensed amateur without having gone through the, I don't call it pain, but 81 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:51,000 through the process of learning Morse code. 82 00:06:52,001 --> 00:06:58,001 We've been talking to K7UGA Barry Goldwater, one of the true pioneers of amateur 83 00:06:58,001 --> 00:07:02,000 radio. His contribution to the service is legendary. 84 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:08,000 Now, today in the 1980s, Barry Goldwater believes deeply that the time has come 85 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:11,001 to eliminate one of the main staples of amateur radio licensing 86 00:07:11,001 --> 00:07:14,000 procedure, Morse code. 87 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:19,001 He pleads the case with fellow hams that new blood, young hams, are needed to 88 00:07:19,001 --> 00:07:23,000 carry on the tradition land to carry the service into the future. 89 00:07:23,001 --> 00:07:29,001 And Senator Goldwater, K7UGA, says unequivocally that the time has come for the 90 00:07:29,001 --> 00:07:34,000 amateur fraternity to debate the issues of no code and then take 91 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:36,000 action as they deem fit. 92 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:42,000 And now for Barry Goldwater, K7UGA, this is Roy Neal, K6DUE in 93 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:44,001 Scottsdale, Arizona, 73.